THE CHASE 239 



case after Christmas, as by that time the calves are 

 able to take care of themselves, and a mother when 

 pressed by the hounds will leave her offspring and go 

 straight away, instead of ringing round to the place 

 where she hid the little one under a bush in the 

 morning. 



A deer, whether stag or hind, who has enough con- 

 fidence in its powers to let the hounds come nearly 

 up to it two or three times in the first hour, almost 

 always runs strong ; deer do not try to get clear away 

 from the pack till they begin to fear their pursuers 

 may overtake them. But if hounds catch a view of a 

 deer after he or she has been running really fast for 

 an hour and a half to two hours, that deer, barring 

 accidents, will not get far away from them again. 



I do not think the scent deteriorates when a deer 

 is sinking, as the scent of a fox does ; it alters un- 

 doubtedly in a way that draws the old hounds to the 

 front, but the change does not lessen the pace at 

 which they can run the line. Strong and sweet as is 

 the scent of the deer, it is much better on some days 

 than on others. The Comte de Canteleu remarks 

 that in the rutting season the scent of the stag is 

 absolutely distasteful to the lymers, and that it is like- 

 wise affected by the shedding of the horns. This, if 

 it be the case, is another instance of the way in which 



